Crush
by bobkitty1123
Summary: Takes place during 86'd. Kate and Daniel have a conversation after they leave her father's bar that changes the nature of their relationship. Kate/Daniel. One-shot.


**A/N –** I finally saw 86'd, and boy did I miss A LOT. I still don't know how I missed that episode in the first place, but I remedied it.

Also, I giggled like a little school girl at the beginning of the episode when Kate pulled Daniel out of her father's bar by his scarf. I swear, that is the cutest scene on Perception so far. I loved it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Perception.

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"Isn't this the professor that you had a huge crush on all throughout coll—"

"Let's go." Kate barked, grabbing the loose end of Daniel scarf and literally dragging him from the bar. Once outside, she let go and told him in clipping tones, "We'll go back to the station and tell them what we found."

Daniel nodded, his brow furrowed in thought as they walked to Kate's car.

As the vehicle came into sight further down the sidewalk, Daniel cleared his throat and asked, "So you had a crush on me?"

Kate groaned in exasperation and she blushed up to her ears. Daniel looked at her, but she tried to hide her face behind her curtain of dark hair. She couldn't believe this was happening. He was the one person she told herself to get over—he was her professor, for goodness sake. At least, at some point he was. Yet, here she was, blushing like a school girl over a simple question.

"Come on, Kate. Let me see your face." Daniel asked, stepping in front of her. It wasn't until this moment that she realized that she had stopped walk. He leaned down her height, trying to get a glimpse at her face. Reaching down, he moved her hair out of the way and tucked it behind her ear.

The gesture was entirely gentle and romantic and Kate was blushing all over again.

"Haha! You did!" Daniel shouted.

"It's not—" Kate began.

"Was it my good looks? Or my smooth, sultry voice? Or perhaps you fell for my extraordinary knowledge of the human mind?"

"I didn't 'fall' for anything. It was just a crush." She paused. "And yes, Daniel I developed a crush on you because of your vast understanding of the cerebellum."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"I sure hope so." She said, glancing up as if praying. "Now, let's go."

They walked the rest of the way to car and she hoped that he wouldn't bombard her with more questions once she was trapped in the vehicle with him. Yet, as she went to open the driver side door, it only opened halfway and then slammed shut. Frustrated, she tried again—it happened again. She turned around and came face to face with Daniel, his hand holding the door shut behind her.

"Why do you like me?" He questioned, curiosity—and something else—written all over his face. Kate visibly gulped.

"Liked, Daniel, liked." She corrected, but her voice shook.

She could stand up to men three times her size, and dodge bullets and knives, but a simple question from her old professor made her tremble like a little girl? Pathetic.

"Okay…what made you like me all those years ago?"

"I…just…" She paused. "It was more like hero-worship, Daniel. I had followed your work for years before I started school and to have you as my professor? That was a dream come true. Granted, I didn't end up in the field of neuroscience or anywhere near that exactly, but you were my idol. Haven't you ever looked up to a professor?"

"Yes, actually." Daniel said, and Kate smiled, triumphantly. "His name was Professor Rhys, but I didn't have a crush on him."

Kate's smile fell.

"And I didn't have a crush on you then either." She pleaded.

"How about now?" He asked, and her face grew red once more.

Daniel smirked at that, and let go of the door. Then he walked around the car and slipped into the passenger seat. Kate didn't get in right away. She stayed against the door for a minute, trying to catch her breath and get the color to drain from her face. Before she had taken even five breaths, Daniel knocked on the car window in impatience.

Kate closed her eyes, took another breath and climbed in.

Daniel was looking at her as she placed the key in the ignition and started the car.

"What?" She asked, turning to him.

Kate turned to find herself face to face with him—again. But this time he wasn't looking at her. He was looking down at the spare change he was picking out of the cup holder. When he did look up at her though, their noses brushed and Kate would have skittered away like a frightened animal if Daniel hadn't placed his hand on her arm, holding her in place.

"You know your dad was watching us?"

"Sorry about that." She flushed. "He _was_ in the FBI."

"Is that to say that you're going to be this paranoid with your kids some day?" Daniel smirked and reached over tucking the same offending hair behind her ear once more.

"Don't be ridiculous, Daniel. I'll just bug them." She said, her voice wavering.

Daniel laughed, and pressed forward, his lips brushing against Kate's.

She gasped and leaned forward as well, deepening the kiss. Daniel seemed surprised by her response as her hand came to rest on the back of his neck. Not knowing where to put his hands, he left them awkwardly in his lap until Kate realized this. Without removing her mouth from his, she took his hands in hers. His hands were huge compared to hers.

The two jumped apart when a loud rap came at the window.

Kate spun around to see her father standing there, looking confused. Blushing more than she ever imagined, she rolled down the window. There was an explanation already prepared on her tongue but it died when he asked, "What about Donny?"

She had completely forgotten about him and the fact her father didn't know about the divorce. Kate didn't want to have this conversation untl she was ready but that went out the window.

"Well, about Donny…"

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**A/N -** I used the spell check in the document manager just to double check, and it underlined this sentence in blue. When I clicked it though, curious why it was singled out, it told me because it was a cliché. lol. Review please!


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